Hospital partnership talks spark debate

Wednesday

May 15, 2013 at 11:18 AM

The future of Lady of the Sea Hospital in Cut Off was the focus of sharp debate at the Lafourche Parish Council meeting Tuesday.

Xerxes WilsonStaff Writer

The future of Lady of the Sea Hospital in Cut Off was the focus of sharp debate at the Lafourche Parish Council meeting Tuesday. The council narrowly passed a resolution requesting a “feasibility study” on a partnership between Lady of the Sea and the larger Thibodaux Regional Medical Center. The original proposal by Councilman Jerry Lafont asked that the Lady of the Sea's governing board wait to replace the hospital's retiring CEO until a study was complete. About 40 Lady of the Sea employees were at the meeting to bemoan being left out of discussions between council members and Thibodaux Regional executives. “Why were we not notified of the meeting that y'all had with Thibodaux Regional to set cooperative agreement? What the hell, a cooperative agreement, you have to have two bodies. Lady of the Sea wasn't even invited,” the hospital's board Chairman Ronald Callais said to a chorus of applause. Lafont said he was joined by councilmen Daniel Lorraine, Lindel Toups and Jerry Jones to meet with Thibodaux Regional board members and CEO about studying potential partnerships with Lady of the Sea. Lafont said he tried unsuccessfully to invite Lady of the Sea officials. He insisted his intent of was not to force a take-over, but to look at ways to improve the services provided by Lady of the Sea. “So many times, whenever you need a specialist you have to drive out of town,” Lafont said while issuing other critiques of the hospital. “It's time we bring specialists down the bayou ... I'm not trying to take your jobs.”Lafont and Lorraine spoke in support of a partnership between the two hospitals.Callais said the board has negotiated with Thibodaux Regional about partnership opportunities, but had not struck any deal. He noted the Thibodaux hospital offered to build and staff two clinics that south Lafourche voters financed through a .2 mill property tax increase included on the May 4 ballot.“That is what we need down the bayou. We need specialists,” Callais said. “But we need specialists that are going to admit that person to Lady of the Sea if possible.”Callais added the “cockamamie” idea for a study is unnecessary because the hospital's size fits the population and the focus should be on maximizing its offerings. Lady of the Sea CEO Don Werner will retire in September. The board recently sent interview requests to candidates vying to replace him. Werner disagreed with the request to postponing the search for a CEO because his replacement will need time to acclimate before he retires. Werner said time is waning as the hospital has several contracts for services and physicians to renegotiate in the fall. Lorraine pushed the idea of an interim CEO, but the vocal crowd insisted on probing Lafont's insistence the hospital postpone hiring a CEO. “It looks to me like y'all are trying to shove something down our throats, and our employees are worried about their jobs. I don't understand your thinking,” Callais said. “If there is no effort here for Thibodaux Regional to step in and take control of Lady of the Sea, why would you not hire a CEO,” Parish President Charlotte Randolph asked. Some Lady of the Sea employees said they feared the resolution's true intent was to leave the Hospital without a CEO defending the interests of the Lady of the Sea in the face of a study or negotiations. “The intent is to see what the study says ... If it comes back and says maybe they can run under one CEO, that might happen. If not, then no,” Lafont said to loud groans from the suspicious crowd. Lafont eventually retracted his request to delay the CEO hunt, but he still insisted on passing a resolution requesting the study. Councilmen Phillip Gouaux, Joe Fertitta, John Arnold and Aaron Caillouet opposed it.It's unclear when the study will happen or what it will focus on. The resolution doesn't call upon any specific party to conduct or pay for the study. It also doesn't set parameters for a study.Lafont told the council Thibodaux Regional had agreed to pay for a third-party study to explore “what capacity the two hospitals could work together.” “How independent do you think a feasibility study done by the hospital that is attempting to take over Lady of the Sea Hospital would be,” Randolph asked in response. Thibodaux Regional Medical Center representatives weren't immediately available for comment.

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